FederalDaily - January 15, 2008
TSA Employees at JFK Switch Union Affiliation
The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) reported that about 100 Transportation Security
Administration (TSA) workers at John F. Kennedy International Airport have switched their union affiliation
and joined AFGE. The Transportation Security Officers (TSOs) gave up their National Treasury Employees
Union (NTEU) membership to join AFGE Local 2222, AFGE said in a Jan. 11 statement. “We have been
thinking about making the switch for several months,” said Bob Marchetta, the appointed treasurer
for Local 2222. Marchetta said the members needed a union to “battle TSA management at the jobsite,
as well as in the courts.” Hydrick Thomas, a former NTEU chapter officer, will serve as president
of the new AFGE local, AFGE said. In reaction, NTEU President Colleen Kelley pointed out that AFGE
was following up on inroads first made by her union. “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery,” Kelley
said, “AFGE’s new-found desire to form local chapters copies NTEU’s successful on-the-ground
representational model.” To see more, go to: www.afge.org/Index.cfm?Page=PressReleases&PressReleaseID=817 or www.nteu.org
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OMB Issues New Travel Regulations
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on Jan. 8 issued a memorandum that outlines new internal
controls on first-class air travel by federal employees. The memorandum comes in the wake of a September
Government Accountability Office (GAO) report showing $146 million wasted on such premium travel over
a one-year period. The report revealed a range of abuses of existing Federal Travel Regulations (FTR),
including instances in which some senior-level executives had their travel approved by subordinates,
or traveled on premium class tickets that were not properly authorized, justified or both. In the memo,
OMB Deputy Director for Management Clay Johnson instructed agencies to implement a series of new internal
policies, including one that would require all requests to be approved by an employee who was at least
at the same job level as the traveler. The memo also called for agencies to issue internal guidelines
that specify when mission criteria and intent call for premium travel. Johnson instructed agencies
to confirm implementation of the new policies no later than March 31, or give written reasons why they
were not being followed. The new controls are in addition to any FTR revisions that may be developed
by the General Services Administration in consideration of the GAO findings. To see more, go to: www.whitehouse.gov/omb/memoranda/fy2008/m08-07.pdf
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TSA Names Rossides as Deputy Administrator
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) last week announced that Gale Rossides has been named
the permanent deputy administrator, a post she has held on an interim basis since April 2007. Since
the creation of the TSA in 2002, Rossides has been an integral part of the department, TSA said in
a statement. Before taking the interim post as deputy administrator, Rossides was an associate administrator
for business transformation and culture at TSA. “There is no one more committed to the people
and mission of TSA than Gale Rossides,” said Kip Hawley, TSA administrator. Prior to joining
TSA, Rossides was appointed as the first assistant director (Training and Professional Development)
for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. To see more, go to: www.tsa.gov/press/releases/2008/press_release_01092008.shtm.
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